It seems to me as we manage people we are in fact creating a social network of sorts at work. The purpose of networking in order to better manage people should be to transmit positive, desirable and productive outcomes for the individuals as well as the organization. To a certain extent a leader must be prepared to deal with the usual transmission of bad behaviors that are common in the workplace as well. They are merely the side effects that managing people produces. We must endure them in order to reap the real benefits of genuine and authentic people management. These downside effects seem to have been grafted into the fiber of the basic employee-management relationship in most every workplace. If a leader can get past the bad behavior, stay the course and stay on the message of the Vision, Mission and Core Values that are at the heart of the organization, the negativity will dissipate and the genuine goodness of people will be forthcoming. We truly gain more than we lose by believing in the goodness of people, our employees.

Once a solid work network is established, I believe a degree of altruism is present. Thus negative behaviors and attitudes are challenged and an expectation of reciprocal behavior that is positive, satisfying and productive begins to evolve. People become happy with their work and the possibility of collaboration and teamwork results in high performance of the organization. Goodness evolves within the organization.

An example of this goodness comes from the work of Katie Carman who studied charitable giving and payroll deductions for the United Way among 75,000 employees of a large American Bank that operated in 20 states. She found that when people were transferred from a location where fellow employees didn’t give much money compared to where they worked previously, they followed suit and decreased their giving at the new place of employment. The network of people management from the leader on down was not engaged and thus the level of “giving goodness” diminished. What Carman discovered and suggests from her findings is that the people management of altruistic norms (United Way giving) can have positive or negative impact on the pay it forward properties of altruism. I postulate that the same is true when applied to job satisfaction, employer engagement and workplace productivity.

Studies have further shown that altruism tends to spread and the benefits magnify. It seems that this is supported by the network that develops. It all starts with leadership and it seems to me that the environment and attitude of goodness is a rather painless investment to make. The payoff will be worth any discomfort.

“What makes us human – for good and for bad – is our social nature.” – Dan Ariely

“What better way to share your thoughts and feelings with a friend or colleague than through the simple act of a handwritten letter.” – Anonymous

People say that social media is transforming the world. It is for certain – in many ways for the betterment of society and in others to our detriment. It is said that all communication can be broken down into three elements, body language, voice (intonation, volume) and the word written or spoken. Studies show that the breakdown of effective communication is reflected as 55% body language, 38% voice and only 7% the spoken or written word.

Given that email, texting and voicemail seem to be overwhelming us today at work and at home through often cryptic, 140 character missives and emoticons and other such one-way communication methods, our discourse has become at best an elusive, fragmented, cliff-noted version of what needs to be said. We have tried to leverage the social media to save time but in my opinion have become increasingly ineffective and inefficient in how we connect with one another.

Make no mistake, I use social media but only as a tool to stimulate and engage eyeball to eyeball, face to face communication. I have found that in matters of significant importance, intimate expression, legal dispute or the exchange of ideas, the social media is less of an advantage and more of a burden.

Nothing will ever take the place of simple human relatedness through the lively art of conversation.

Like a growing number of people, chances are you spend more time commenting on blogs, updating, linking, sharing on Facebook, emailing and tweeting than you ever imagined you would. Unfortunately, we all do.

In a world that woefully lacks accountability, companies are forced to check a potential new hire’s social media activity, monitor social media sites for competitive intelligence and evaluate productivity by viewing everything employees post – every comment, tweet, link and like on company time that is not work related. Sad but true, and why should employers pay staff for time spent on nonproductive activity on social media? I am aware of several employers who found employees spending up to 40 percent of their work time on social media sites. Almost half of the work day was nonproductive.

This problem is no small potatoes. What you say and how you say it has a direct and material impact on your online presence, marketability, career and your company’s business. There are real-world consequences to your virtual actions.

Think about what you are doing and the impact it can and will have on you, your company, family and your life.

Social networks, such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, have quickly become a popular way to communicate, even in a business context. These social media giants have created a huge opportunity to share valuable information with potential and existing clients, referral sources, alliance partners and employees, while enhancing your credibility and subtly promoting yourself, your profession and your work/ business. And the best part – it’s free.

Here are some guidelines and suggestions to help start you on your way or optimize what you are currently doing:

Create a profile: Sign up for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or a combination of the three and develop a profile. Include as much information as you are comfortable with people knowing about you. Focus on those aspects of your life and business that leave people reading your profile with a positive, favorable impression of who you are and what you do.

Search & listen: Search for and connect with individuals and groups of other business owners and self-employed professionals like yourself, who are interested in improving and growing their businesses. Key managers and decision makers in larger businesses are also worthy of your consideration. Read what they are writing and how they are communicating. Get to know their behaviors, preferences and methods of publishing and sharing information.

Define your objectives: Social networking is an additional “tool” that you can use in your marketing “toolbox.” It is not meant to replace direct marketing. You may be hurting rather than helping yourself if you use social networking to overtly sell yourself or your business services. Instead, get familiar with your audience and their desires. Become involved in their discussions and share your knowledge. Supply links to relevant industry news, events, videos and websites. Your audience will appreciate that you are knowledgeable about such issues. This will continue to enhance your credibility, build trust and, in some instances, help you become a center of influence, a “go-to” person, someone of value to others. It may eventually lead to new or additional business and referrals. One caveat to remember – once you post something, it is out there for all to see. Before you post anything, proof-read and be sure that you are indeed comfortable with the content.

As a reminder, use of trademarks, branding elements and intellectual property must be done in a professional and meaningful manner which represents our presence in today’s business communities.

It is vitally important to remember that Social Media SHOULD NOT replace face-to-face relationship building – this is just an additional avenue that many of you may wish to pursue away from normal business hours. Just as your office website, newsletter, blog, etc. are nice credibility builders, they cannot substitute personal relationship building and selling. Otherwise, it’s “fool’s gold.” Social Media, as a supplement to referral-based marketing can be a terrific, value-added approach – as a replacement it can derail your business.

If you have additional thoughts, questions or comments, please contact me at your convenience on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or simply email me. Better yet, call me at 608-787-5771. I would love to talk to you!

In addition to being perceived as different, special and better as I discussed in my last blog, you need to try new marketing strategies to attract new customers/clients. Here are some other brief ideas for bringing in new clients:

Leverage your past customer relationships. Revisit with past, worthy customers or inactive customers and express your interest in rekindling the relationship and solving any of their current problems. These folks did business with you at one time, wrote out checks to you, and may well be receptive to re-activating their relationship with you. However, you must identify and heal any unresolved wounds and share with them the benefits of doing business with your company once again. Give them an inducement (bonus, discount, additional service level, etc.) for taking action and ordering once again.

Formalize and optimize your referral systems. Identify (crunch numbers, don’t rely on hunches) your best-performing referral sources (some use the term market influencers) over the past 12 months and be sure that you thank and reward them for their efforts. Communicate with these proven providers often to maintain a top-of-mind awareness in their heads. Once you identify these top providers, shamelessly clone these folks. For example, if you are a house painting company and determine that your best referral sources have been real estate agents, replicate this formula. Don’t complicate the magic. Educate these and others as to the specific types of customers and circumstances you serve best. Referral source cultivation is one of the most underutilized yet low-cost, high-yield marketing weapons that exist.

Leverage those relationships that your business helps to financially support (your banker, CPA, attorney, suppliers, financial adviser, insurance agent, etc.). To determine which would make for good informal sales agents for your business, ask the following types of questions: “Who will benefit from our success as we continue to grow and expand?” “Who do we write checks to on a regular basis and would have a vested interest in supporting our business development efforts?” Identify these relationships and ask these folks to reciprocate and support your growth efforts through leads, referrals, testimonials, etc.

Leverage indirect competitors to gain new customers. Indirect competitors are companies that you seldom go head-to-head with when competing for business. For example, you could establish a formal referral relationship (swap leads, pay finder’s fees, share revenue, co-marketing, etc.) with an indirect competitor that is much larger or smaller than you are or in a different geographic region. For example, a smaller CPA firm could establish an alliance with a large CPA firm and swap leads that don’t fit their respective niches. A small, traditional plumbing business could form an alliance with a plumbing company that focuses on doing only the tough, complex, big jobs. Leads could flow both ways.

Gain leverage from current clients/customers. Ask current buyers for introductions/referrals to other potential buyers or ask current customers to provide endorsements, testimonials or serve as references. Always ask current clients about other unmet needs they may have.

Identify and cultivate complementary businesses as strategic alliances. For example, a technology consulting firm would want to form alliances with those that can help steer business their way (CPAs, software/hardware vendors, other non-competitive consultants, etc.) How do you find potential referral or alliance partners? Ask, “Who already has the trust and respect of our prospects?”

Make doing business easy, convenient, and risk free. Do not ask the other party to assume risk if they start a business relationship with you. Instead, communicate an unconditional, money-back guarantee. Don’t keep your guarantee hidden, broadcast it. A credible and specific guarantee will bring in far more business than it costs you. Here is a simple example, “If you don’t find our technology training courses among the best you have ever taken, simply ask for a refund before the start of the second day and we will gladly return 100% of your money without any questions or delay.”

Use direct-response advertising. Don’t waste money on ineffective advertising. Always make sure any advertising contains a compelling offer/benefit and motivates the reader/listener/viewer to take action. Never advertise just an image. Advertise only to sell something. Track the effectiveness of your ads to generate leads and/or sales. If the ads don’t seem to be working, kill them. Never advertise to merely satisfy your ego.

Consider using telemarketing. Use it to develop leads for your salespeople or use telemarketers to follow-up a direct mail or advertising campaign. Even consider using telemarketing to follow up a sale to see if the person requires any additional help, advice, services or products (warranties, add-on products, additional levels of service, etc.) If you just cleaned the carpet in two rooms of a customer’s house, call up a week later and ask if they would want additional rooms to look as good and offer them a discount as inducement for taking immediate action.

Influence many people at once with special events/seminars. Consider hosting educational events for customers, referral sources and prospects. Consider holding them in conjunction with other companies (newspapers, radio stations, suppliers, banks, CPA firms, industry experts, trade associations, complementary companies, etc.). This will allow you to tap into their customer relationships. For example, if you are an upscale travel agency introducing new exotic trips, consider co-hosting an event with an upscale radio station, magazine or with a high-end jewelry store, auto dealership, country club, money management firm, etc.

Commit to using Social Media. Social media is simply putting a powerful and complete sales presentation on the internet. Such a vehicle allows you to touch many buyers at once – immense leverage. Most owners would be best served in the long run by seeking the advice of a professional social marketing consultant on a project basis.

Consider writing a blog. A blog is a powerful source of leverage as you educate and influence a targeted audience about your benefits, expertise, etc. Get to know the best links in your industry and get your blogs out through them.

Buy other reputable businesses possessing great reputations and strong goodwill to gain access to their loyal customers. Be sure their business is a good fit for your company, culture, values, customer base, etc.

Marketing is all about targeting and relationships. It’s about getting face to face and effectively building credibility and real trust with people who can use, buy and/or confidently refer your skills and services to others. Make no mistake, while social media, websites and blogs like this one are necessary, nothing replaces the face to face meetings that initiate the “high touch” essentials of a personal, positive, productive long-term relationship. If you are not a web-based business, high tech tools should drive prospective clients and leads to you so you can build meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships. High tech tools can never replace the value of being “up close and personal.”

Let’s put it this way, if your dependence on the web and social media doesn’t foster and drive you to face to face meetings and relationship building, it is probably wasting your time. You need to rethink how you are using technology to market your services. You can’t replace a face to face meeting with emails, tweets or friending pages. First and foremost your goal should always be to build solid relationships. It seems very clear to me that before anyone is going to spend any amount of time or capital with you, they will want to deal with a real human being, not a faceless entity. People want to “see how you relate and operate.”

So the messages is—get out from behind your computer, get comfortable scheduling 10 face to face meetings per week and you will find success waiting right around the corner.

Fred’s Most Recent Blogs

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